


Little Bears Daycare

by SuperDarkRose



Series: The Finnish DayCare [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Daycare, Fluff, Juuse and all of the Finns are babies, Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of child neglect, Single Parent AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 03:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14823947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperDarkRose/pseuds/SuperDarkRose
Summary: “What’s his name?”“His name is Juuse Saros. One of the reasons why it’s been so difficult to locate his father is because his mother gave him her name. Not the fathers.”Pekka nodded and took the leap. “I’ll do it. I’ll take care of him.”“You are a true blessing Mr. Rinne. When would be the best time to come over so you can fill out the paperwork?”“Tomorrow would be fine. Around 3?”“That sounds perfect. I’m writing that down right now, and I’ll be bringing Juuse over so we can go ahead and introduce him to you. Will that be alright?”“Yes, that’ll be fine.” He was nervous and he wasn’t sure why. It was just a baby, not a bomb.“Fantastic! We’ll be over at 3 pm tomorrow! Have a great day Mr. Rinne.”“You do the same.” As he hung up he sat back releasing a big sigh. He knew he just signed himself up for a lifetime commitment. He didn’t know it for sure, but he just knew deep down he probably wouldn’t be letting the child go.‘Am I ready to be a father?’





	Little Bears Daycare

**Author's Note:**

> I'm Back!!
> 
> Hello Everyone! I'm super excited to be posting this story for all of you to read. This was based off the idea that Pekka can't help but adopt all of the Finnish rookies in the league. In this he runs a daycare for Finnish children. At first I was going to run this as a crack fic but then my hand slipped and it became a feel good fic instead. 
> 
> Just imagine that Pekka is speaking Finnish with anyone that is a Finnish speaker. Otherwise he is speaking English. This story was beta'd by my lovely darling GuixonLove. Please go read her stories if you can, you will not regret it!
> 
> Anyways, I hope all of you enjoy!!

**Little Bears Daycare (Pieni Karhu Finnish for Little Bear)**

 

* * *

 

 

“Hello, Miikka! Did you bring your favorite toy today?”

The little Finnish boy smiled brightly at the taller man as he bent down to his level. “Yeah! Got my teddy bear!”

“You did! Well, that’s so good because we’re reading a story today about bears. I’m sure that you’ll love it. Now, why don’t you go play with Mikko and Patric and I’ll be right there.” 

He watched the little boy hug his mother before running towards the back of his little home where the other boys were playing with their favorite toys. “You have such a way with children. Thank you so much for doing this. We’re still looking for a nice school for Miikka to start at, but he hasn’t learned English just yet so it’s been difficult.”

The native language on his tongue always made him smile whenever he spoke with the children and their parents. So whenever he got to have these exchanges it always made him feel at home. “I understand. That’s why I opened up this daycare. It’s small, but I’m slowly building it up. I know how difficult it is to adjust to a new home, and especially with a baby. So trust me it’s no problem. I love looking after the boys. They’re a handful but it’s fun.” 

“Where’s Erika? I thought she was helping you with this?” The question stung him hard and he had to shake it off before answering her.

“She’s uh, she’s no longer helping with this. I’m doing this by myself now.”

“Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry I had no idea. Are you at least looking for some help?”

“Yes of course. It’s been slow but I’m looking,” Pekka has been looking but it’s been hard when his fiancé decided to leave.

“Well, if you need anything you know how to get in contact with me.”

“Of course. Have a good day!” Pekka waved her off and then sagged against the door with a big deep sigh. It’s been almost a month since his fiancé decided she didn’t want to do this anymore. Not just the daycare thing, but the whole marriage thing. She stated that she still had a whole life to live and she didn’t want to be bogged down by marriage or children. 

Pekka’s heart sank at that.

He wanted to build a family, a life together with her, and now he was alone. He was 28 years old and he wasn’t getting any younger. It sucked but he couldn’t let these parents down. He couldn’t let these little boys down. They were trying to build a brand new life in America and he wanted to help pave the way for these kids so they could live a normal life. It was tough and yeah he placed a help wanted listing up online, so hopefully, he’ll get some more help soon.

Otherwise, he would be doing this alone until he found some help. He owned a little building that used to be a flower shop but converted it into a daycare for foreign speaking children. He lived in the same building with a fairly decent sized apartment on top. At the daycare, he taught very small lessons about letters, shapes, and colors from Finnish to English to help the kids to become adjusted to the new country.

All the boys were no older than 8 and all of them were as cute as could be. He was only watching four at the moment, but he was told by Sebastian's parents that there might be two more families moving in pretty soon. 

He definitely was going to need some more help.

For now, he swallowed whatever pain he was holding in and went to check on the kids. They were right where they were supposed to be, playing with the blocks, blabbing in their own little language that Pekka found adorable. He threw himself into caring for the boys and pushed the hurt away.   
  


 

* * *

 

 

**3 months later**

 

“Do you need anything else?” 

He looked over to Calle, his new hire that was Swedish but had learned some Finnish in order to help. He had just finished picking up the toys when he started to come into the kitchen.

“More help. I just got word that those two families are definitely moving here and they have two boys with them. If we’re going to start going on field trips then we’re going to need more hands.”

Calle laughed as he went to pick up his book bag slinging it over his shoulder. “I’ll see what I can do. I think I know some guys that might like to help. I’ll let you know what they think.”

“Thanks, Cal. You’re good to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you!”

He waved the Swede off smiling to himself. The younger man was nice if not a bit wild for his taste. He already had a boyfriend, but he wouldn’t have minded dating him if it ever came up. He laughed to himself as he went back to cleaning up the kitchen.

He was just finishing up when the phone began to ring.

He normally wouldn’t answer after hours, but knowing that two more families maybe coming in at any time made him answer the phone. “Little Bears Daycare, this is Pekka Rinne how may I help you?”

“Yes hello, you’re exactly who I needed to speak with. I’m Judy Michael's and I work for the Fostering child-care system here in middle Tennessee.”

Shock runs through his system before he realizes he had sent in some forms when he first opened the daycare to be listed as a place for children to come if they needed a place to stay. “Hello, how can I help you?”

“Yes, so I’m calling because I saw that you’re listed in our files to be able to take children in if the situation arises. Well, we’ve gotten to a point in this case where we’re at a dead end. The child we have at this moment only speaks Finnish and we currently do not have anyone in our database that speaks the language in the area other than you.”

“Alright, but can’t you get a translator to…”

“The child in question is only 2 years old,” he’s cut off instantly and feels a deep cold shiver run through him.

“Only 2 years old?”

“Yes. The child is a little boy, 2 years of age, and is currently in the between stages of some words mixed with babble. So we’re unable to properly care for him due to his language.”

“What about reaching out to his family?” He could already feel himself start to panic because there was a very good chance that if he took in this baby he might not give him up. He was still hurting after his fiancé left him and taking in a child might not be the best for him at the moment in time.

“That’s just it. We’re trying to find someone that’s related to the child. Apparently from what we’ve discovered is that the mother was young and had completely cut ties with all family and friends. So there’s nothing. No contacts. Nothing. We’ve tried to locate the father, but that also was a dead end. Apparently, the father hasn’t been involved at all.”

Pekka sighed as he had to pull out a chair to sit down. He was slowly caving in and he felt like he might drown. “So how does this involve me?”

“Look, I know this is a lot to take in all at once, Mr. Rinne I’m literally at the end of my options. The next option is deporting him back to Finland. Which I don’t want to do to a baby. His mother was killed in a car accident when a drunk driver ran a red light. She was killed on impact. The baby was home with a babysitter when it happened.”

_ ‘Shit,’ _ he thought to himself as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. This was all happening so quickly and he wasn’t sure he could say no. He just couldn’t let a baby be sent away after what happened. He just couldn’t. “What happens if I say yes to this?”

“What happens is you’ll take care of the child while we try to find a legal guardian to look after him. This could take 3 to 6 months or more. We’ve got some progress on locating the father but we don’t want to get our hopes up. If in the meantime you do decide you wish to adopt the child I’ll help you through the paperwork and what you need to do in order to adopt him. I’m the caseworker on this so if there is anything that you need to provide for the child we will provide it. We will also be paying you to foster the child while he is under your care. Does that all make sense?”

He swallowed hard as he thought about what his parents would do at that moment. “Yes, just...just one more question.”

“Of course.”

“What’s his name?”

“His name is Juuse Saros. One of the reasons why it’s been so difficult to locate his father is because his mother gave him her name. Not the fathers.”

Pekka nodded and took the leap. “I’ll do it. I’ll take care of him.”

“You are a true blessing Mr. Rinne. When would be the best time to come over so you can fill out the paperwork?”

“Tomorrow would be fine. Around 3?”

“That sounds perfect. I’m writing that down right now, and I’ll be bringing Juuse over so we can go ahead and introduce him to you. Will that be alright?”

“Yes, that’ll be fine.” He was nervous and he wasn’t sure why. It was just a baby, not a bomb.

“Fantastic! We’ll be over at 3 pm tomorrow! Have a great day Mr. Rinne.”

“You do the same.” As he hung up he sat back releasing a big sigh. He knew he just signed himself up for a lifetime commitment. He didn’t know it for sure, but he just knew deep down he probably wouldn’t be letting the child go.

_ ‘Am I ready to be a father?’ _   
  


* * *

 

 

**3 pm the Next Day**

 

After sending the boys home and saying goodbye to Calle, he anxiously waited for Ms. Micheal's to arrive with the baby.

He knew that this was going to change his life probably forever, but at this point, he was willing to take the risk. Just as he was about to go clean something again, he heard a knock at the main door. He went to unlock it and then opened the door wide seeing as she had her arms full.

“I’m so sorry about being late. Juuse began crying and I tried to help him, but I’m still not very sure what’s wrong.” She didn’t seem like she was in a panic but the underlying image was always deceitful. She had no idea how to handle children and so he stepped in to try and calm Juuse down.

He wasn’t hysterically crying, just a soft cry as big fat tears rolled down his face. Pekka’s heart instantly ached at the sight. “Do you mind?” He asked as he gestured to take the baby.

“No no please go ahead. I honestly have no idea what to do.”

“It’s fine. Come on in. We’ll go back to the play area.” He took Juuse from her arms and instantly it felt right to hold him. He was a bit lighter than he would have liked, but he went to grab a soft cloth to wipe his face and bounce him to try and calm him down.

“Hey, hey little one. Shh you’re safe. What’s wrong?” He spoke to Juuse softly in their native tongue and he got an instant reaction out of Juuse. His crying became soft whines as Pekka spoke to him. He understood what he was saying. “Are you hurt? You hungry? Thirsty?”

The baby looked up at him with big watery blue eyes as his whines became quiet. “Baba.” It was so quiet Pekka almost didn’t hear it until he was looking to Ms. Michael's for his bottle.

“He’s thirsty. Do you have his bottle on you?”

“Oh yes of course! I’m so sorry I had no idea. Here’s his diaper bag. He honestly didn’t have much at all.”

“That’s fine.”  _ ‘Poor baby hasn’t understood anyone that’s why he was so fussy.’  _ He thought as they got into the play area.

He seemed to be in a daze as he went to sit in a rocking chair and pulled the bottle out for Juuse. The little boy instantly grabbed for it and sucked on it as if he was dying of thirst. He sniffled before laying against Pekka’s chest slowly calming down as Pekka began to rock him. He had big blue eyes and soft tuffs of brown hair on the top of his head. He wore a blue onesie which brought out his eyes and had a cute little mole on his cheek.

“You’re quite a natural at that. He seems to like you too.”

“I’m not sure. He hasn’t understood anyone for several days, so for a child not to understand anything can be very scary. Being able to find someone that he understands is a huge comfort for him.” Though just as he said this Juuse turned in his arms and began to close his eyes. His little hand going to close onto his t-shirt in a little fist. Pekka’s heart swelled at the sight as he got the baby more comfortable against him so he could sleep.

“Well, that may be true, but that right there just shows me that he’s in the right place. Now, if there’s anything at all that you need? I know you run a daycare so I wasn’t sure. I would like to look over the room Juuse will be staying in and then we can fill out some paperwork.”

“Sure. Let me get him to sleep and then we’ll look at the room. There are actually two rooms I built in when I put together the daycare. I have one upstairs in my apartment, and then one down here so that way if we got infants or babies we could have a nursery for them away from the older children.”

“Well good. Just let me know if there’s anything at all that you might need.”

They spoke softly as he rocked Juuse to sleep and then after laying him down in the daycare nursery, he showed her the baby room in his apartment. “May I ask why there’s a baby room upstairs?”

“A couple of the families that first came here, their sons were just babies and there were some nights when they wanted to go out. Or they had to go away for a weekend. So I would bring the babies up here so that way they weren’t far away. I clean up the daycare and then come up here once everything’s locked up. This was the overnight area for when the parents went away. I don’t have to do that very often anymore but that’s why I have two nurseries.”

She nodded as she jotted everything down, “This looks good. So how about we go back down so we can fill this paperwork out?”

After about 30 minutes of signing and filling out blank spaces, he heard the baby monitor crackle to life and a soft cry was heard over the speakers. “I’ll be right back.” He excused himself and went to take care of Juuse.

He’s been in this business long enough to know how to take care of a baby. So he came in and found Juuse standing up in the crib crying softly before he saw him come in. He stopped and reached out to him which tugged hard at his heartstrings. His little fists hands opening and closing until Pekka finally picked him up.

“I’ve got you. Shh, shh. I’ve got you. Let’s change you then we can get a snack. Yeah? I bet you like Cheerios.” Juuse sniffled a bit before he babbled before saying ‘nack’. I was quite frankly adorable and he tickled Juuse’s tummy as he changed his diaper.

The baby laughed, which was a cute little bubble of giggles. Pekka tickled him again just so he could hear him laugh. He brought him out and found Ms. Michael's smiling as he went to set him in the high chair. “Sorry. I apologize for taking so long.”

“No no of course not. I just overheard on the baby monitor. You have a real gift for this. I think he’s in good hands. I just wanted to let you know that everything is in order so I’m going to head out now unless you need anything.”

“I think we’re good here. I’ll call if something comes up.”

“Of course. I’ll just see myself out. Have a good evening.” He waved her off as she left and he went to lock up, closing the blinds before coming back to Juuse. 

“Actually I think we can eat dinner now. How about we fix something good, yeah?” Juuse didn’t really respond other than saying ‘eat’. It was simple which was all he needed.

He found Juuse incredibly cute and very attentive as well. He was also not a picky eater which helped a ton since he hasn’t been grocery shopping yet. After dinner, he placed him in a playpen near the kitchen so he could clean up. He noticed that Juuse followed him with his eyes everywhere he went, as if afraid he might disappear out of his sights. 

Once he cleaned up he got Juuse out and let him play in the little area he had set-up for him in the living room of his apartment. Pekka sat down with him on the floor, pointing out things, and naming them out for Juuse to hear. 

Pekka wasn’t sure what kind of lifestyle Juuse was in, but he was pretty sure that Juuse’s mother was doing everything on her own. Not just that, but he figured that she didn’t really know what she was doing either. He hated that Juuse’s parents were ripped away from him, but it seemed that his mother was hardly around for Juuse to remember her. Her file did say she worked three jobs.

That was the one thing Pekka was afraid of was Juuse crying for his mama, but not once did he say a word about her and he feared that she wasn’t there enough in his life to make a difference. A sad situation to a sweet little boy, he vowed to make sure Juuse was as happy as possible while he stayed with him.

 

* * *

  
  


Though Juuse was excellent during the day, he seemed to cry throughout the whole night.

It was constant. He would get him to bed, but then a couple of hours later he was back up again. He just couldn’t figure it out. Calle luckily had come in the next day and got the shock of his life when he saw him and Juuse come downstairs to set-up the daycare.

“Um, who’s baby is that?”

“Mine. His name is Juuse. I’m fostering him until they can find a home for him. He didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Really? No shit. Well, you look like shit if that helps.”

“Thanks, it doesn’t,” Pekka deadpans as he goes to set Juuse by some blocks. Calle shrugged as he went to help set-up before they opened. 

“So, around nap time. I’ll keep an ear on everything if you want to sleep some.”

“I can’t let you do everything yourself that wouldn’t be right.”

“Pekka you’re exhausted. You’re single-handedly taking care of a baby that was just brought into your life. The least I can do is let you sleep.” Pekka smiled wanting to hug the other man if his arms weren’t full of toys.

“Thanks Cal, I think I’ll do just that.”

“No worries! You can pay me double later on.”

“You wish.” They went about their day like normal, added with Juuse on with the group of boys as well. Juuse was shy at first before Miikka sat down to play with the blocks with him. He had a pacifier in his mouth most of the time, which just made his cheek puff out and made him look even cuter. 

Pekka was going to die from this little boys cuteness. 

At nap time, true to his word, after all the boys were put down Pekka went to sleep as well. When he woke up it was dark outside and he frantically raced downstairs to see if something had happened. Instead, he found Calle playing peek-a-boo with Juuse and all of the boys gone for the day.

“Calle? Why didn’t you come and get me?”

“Peek-a-boo! Because you were tired. I knew you were going to have a long night. I really don’t mind watching Juuse though. He is absolutely precious. Peek-a-boo!” Juuse burst into giggles again as he nearly flopped over onto the carpeted floor. 

Pekka smiled as he came over and instantly saw Juuse perk up as he did. “Ah! Up!” Juuse went to open and close his little hands towards him and his heart swelled as he swooped in to pick him up. He threw him up in the air making Juuse scream with laughter before pulling him back down into a hug.

It had only been two days and he was already attached to the little boy.

“You’re so fucked.”

“Calle! Not around the baby!” He tried to cover Juuse’s ears making the Swede roll his eyes as he stood up.

“I’m serious though. That baby has got you so tightly wrapped around his little finger, I doubt he’ll ever let you go.” Pekka sighed as they went to sit on the big sofa. They used it for story time before they went outside to play. Pekka gave Juuse his bottle and the little boy laid on his chest as he relaxed against him.

“I know. I just need to wait and see what happens. I don’t want to jump into anything without knowing what’s going to happen first.”

“Too late my friend, you’re already there. I wasn’t here but I know 100% you fell in love with this little boy when you first saw him. I know it’s hard but you’re perfect for this. I’m sure one day you’ll find someone to be your match, but right now you’ve been given a choice, a second chance to be happy. It’s not exactly what you would expect but he was alone, and so were you. Now you both have each other. I agree though don’t jump into adopting until a few months in, but Pekka, don’t hold back. Your ex had hurt you because she held you back from starting a family. Now's your chance to finally have one.”

Pekka swallowed down his emotions so he wouldn’t cry in front of the baby and Calle, but it was too much as it began to bubble up. Calle hugged him from the side as he cried quiet tears. He hadn’t given himself any time to feel sorrow for what happened in his life and just for a moment he finally felt peace. 

 

* * *

 

**6 months later**

 

“Eat your oatmeal and fruit, Juuse. It’s yummy! It’s good for you.” He cooed and Juuse opened his mouth wide as he chomped onto an orange slice. 

“Orange!”

“That’s right! Orange! Good boy! You’re doing so good. I’m so proud of you sweetheart.” He kissed the little boy on the top of his head as he chewed on his food. His learning development had risen since Juuse was brought into his life. He also gained a couple more pounds which Pekka had worried over until he was able to get him backup to a good weight. His language was also improving as well. It was improvement which is what he had been hoping for. He wanted to teach him his native tongue first and then English when he was a little bit older to do so. Otherwise, he’d been proud at how much the little boy has grown in just 3 months.

Also in 3 months, Pekka decided that he would adopt Juuse. More like he wanted Juuse to be his son. He may not be the spitting image of him, but that didn’t matter as the little boy had wormed his way right into his heart. He’s been going through the classes and doing the social worker interviews. It’s been long and stressful, but every single day Juuse grows and gives him that sweet smile he knows he’s doing the right thing.

It was their weekend, so they were relaxing in the kitchen eating breakfast before they got ready to go to the park. Juuse loved the park. He loved the dogs the most. 

Juuse clapped his little hands as he chewed on an apple. Pekka laughed as he smiled at him, “I bet that’s good isn’t it buddy? You’re eating so good and I’m so proud of you.” Juuse perked up as he went to take a drink out of his bottle.

Pekka went back to his oatmeal and fruit as well before Juuse spoke up again, “Good Papa?”

Pekka choked a bit on his food before taking a drink and looking at Juuse in shock, “What baby?”

Juuse’s eyes went wide before smiling at him, “Good Papa! Papa yummy!” Pekka felt himself tear up and he had to take a deep breath from letting himself cry. He wasn’t sure where he heard that, maybe on some cartoons during tv time. He wasn’t sure, but all he knew was he felt warm all over and he felt more than right to adopt Juuse as his son.

He went to take Juuse out of his high chair, eliciting a happy laugh as he went to hug him close. He hid his tears from his future son and hoped all went well for him. “It was so good. Papa loved everything. Papa loves you too. Papa loves you so much.” 

“Papa.” Juuse laid his head on his shoulder and Pekka peppered his face with sweet kisses before going to hold him in his lap. They finished breakfast together and then walked to the park.   
  


* * *

 

 

Juuse’s nightmares never really let up.

He discovered the reason he never slept through the night was because he was afraid of being alone. On the nights he left him in his bed he cried throughout the whole night. Then the nights he let him sleep with him he slept the whole night through. 

Again it was a process and one he struggled with. He didn’t want Juuse to become attached to sleeping in his bed, but he also didn’t want Juuse to go without sleeping either. He finally sat close by, nearly dead tired on his feet, as he let Juuse sleep in his little bed. Juuse slept the whole night and Pekka wanted to weep in relief. 

It was every other night he would jump up, but now he slept through the whole night and rarely did his nightmares come back.

On one night though, there was a bad thunderstorm that was rolling through. He heard Juuse begin to cry his scared cry. It was one Pekka knew all too well. He walked into his room and found him shaking and clinging to the crib bars. His little bottom lip was wobbling pitifully and he had huge fat tears streaming down his face.

“Papa! Papa!” He cried again as another sound of thunder clapped. He went over and picked the shaking child out of the crib. He held him close and decided tonight he could sleep with him. 

“It’s okay. It’s okay Shh. Papa’s got you. You’re safe, baby.” Juuse let out a sad whine as he clung to his shirt and Pekka’s heart ached for his little boy. He hated when he got scared. Maybe this was his fear. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that in order for them both to get some sleep the only solution was bringing him to his room. 

He set everything up on the bed for Juuse to sleep, laying pillows on the other side of him so he didn’t roll too far, and then went to lay him down. “Shh. shh. I’m right here and laying right here next to you. I’ve got you, baby.” Juuse’s cries softened as he laid him on his stomach. He rubbed a hand over his little back and felt him start to relax more and more. 

He would startle slightly at the loud noises but then soon he was out like a light. Pekka let himself sleep until he felt a little body shaking in his arms. “Papa. Scary, Papa.” His whimpers broke his heart as he hugged him close.

“I know. I know it’s scary, but it doesn’t have to be.”

Juuse looked up at him with big eyes, scared, but more curious than before. He was tired, poor thing, but scared of the storm. He was still so young but understood more than what people knew. “You remember we placed that stomping game? We stomped around like big animals.”

“Big big elephant.”

“That’s right baby. Big like an elephant. It was really really loud, right? That’s just what this is. Big animals are stomping around in the sky and having a big party. They don’t have the same time as us so it’s daytime for them and night time for us. They don’t know they’re making so much noise, but they’re just having so much fun that they can’t stop. So that’s why there are loud noises. So there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re safe. I would never ever let anything hurt you.” 

Juuse’s eyes were wide as he spoke and he really wasn’t sure how much got through to him, but he felt Juuse climb on top of his chest and went to lay down. “Papa keep big big elephant away.” He said as he laid his head on his chest. Pekka went to rub a hand over his back, his heart full and warm as they both finally fell asleep. 

He knew he overslept as he felt a hand start to pat his cheek over and over again. When he cracked an eye open he saw Juuse’s toothy grin as he squeezed his face. “Papa up! Papa I hungry. Waffles! Booberry!” He chuckled as he closed his eyes for a moment. 

“Blueberry waffles?” His voice cracked with deep sleep as Juuse giggled happily.

“Yeah! Booberry waffle! Yummy!” He patted his cheek again and he laughed before moving to pull the boy up until he could blow on his little belly.

“Oh yeah? I think this is yummy!” Juuse screamed with laughter as he tickled him. His little giggle made him warm all over and he just couldn’t wait until he could finalize those adoption papers. He wanted Juuse to be his son. He loved him deep in his heart and he knew he probably fell for the little boy as soon as he was brought into his home. 

He was almost there. Almost.

He finished tickling Juuse and Juuse moved down to give him a sweet kiss. He smiled kissing his little cheeks before he finally sat up. “Papa loves you, baby. Papa loves you very much.” He kissed his cheeks again before moving so they could walk down the hall.

“Wove you, Papa! Wove you!” And he felt Juuse hug his leg as he looked up at him. It shouldn’t have hit him so hard, but the confirmation made it so real. He bent down and hugged his hopefully future son and went to pick him up. He hid his tears as he took him to his room to get changed.  

“Papa loves you too little bear.”

Pekka felt like he was floating on cloud 9 as he and Juuse got dressed for the day. He’s wanted for so long for something to stick and stay and finally, he felt like things were going right for him. 

That is….until he got a phone call.

They were right in the middle of arts and crafts, which was messier than he had anticipated, but they were trying. He laughed as Juuse just stabbed the crayon onto the paper before scribbling all over. He was scribbling with two crayons and he smiled knowing Juuse was going to be ambidextrous. His son was going to be a genius. 

He thinks this just as said future son is about to stick the crayon into his mouth, “No Juuse no! Don’t eat the crayons! You color see, color.”

“Cowor.” Juuse mimics and then tries to eat the crayon again.

“Okay, no more colors for you. Let’s get you a bottle.” Juuse giggled, not really understanding what he did wrong and Pekka sighed because he could honestly say he’s never gotten upset at Juuse at all.

He gets him his bottle and then sets him by the big blocks which he loves very much. He’s about to check in with the other boys when the main phone rings.

He goes to answer it like usually until he’s cut off by Ms. Michael's. “Ms. Michael's? I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. I mean it’s great hopefully I’d like to get this done soon so I can…”

“Pekka. We were able to find the father.”

Pekka feels his chest get tight and he goes to scrabble for a chair to sit down in. He tries taking deep steady breaths but nothing seems to work. “Oh. So, what happens now?” He doesn’t want to ask because he knows, but that’s why he has to ask.

“We’re speaking with the father right now to see if he wishes to have custody of the child….”

“Juuse. His name is Juuse. If we’re going to start back on the child thing then this might not work.”

“Mr. Rinne. He’s the primary guardian and legal father to Juuse Saros. You have no way of…”

“I’ll fight, then. This man has not been in this child’s life at all since he was born. Which means the mother didn’t want him to be there or he didn’t want to be there. I’ve had Juuse in my home for almost 8 months now and now you’re going to tell me I have to just give him up?! He doesn’t know him! He’d be going home to a complete stranger!”

“Mr. Rinne you were a stranger too….”

“Who could talk to him. We’ve discovered through therapy that he had abandonment issues which meant the mother wasn’t around very much at all either. He was dropped off from stranger to stranger almost every day. So the first time he has a stable home, with a good roof over his head, surrounded by other children and families in the same culture as him you’re going to decide to take him away? Is that it?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Rinne that’s how this works.”

“Bullshit. I’m tired of this. I’m sorry but if you do this I’ll have no choice but to file a lawsuit against you and the company. I’ve already signed off on all of the paperwork, I’ve taken the classes, done the home studies, seen every single goddamn social worker that walked the face of the earth, and we had a judge ready to go to confirm the adoption was final. I was ready. You can’t just take him away from me,” he was on the verge of tears. He didn’t work and spend thousands of dollars to finally find happiness for himself and this child to have the government rip them apart. 

“Mr. Rinne….”

“If you’re going to go through with this then you better come prepared, because you’re not taking Juuse without a fight. That man is not fit to have a child if he can’t even stick around to take care of him in the first place.”

“Mr. Rinne, what if the mother didn’t want him in their lives?”

“Then he would have been here if he really wanted to stay. He would have found out, kept tabs with them in case something happened. If you love someone you never stop. Not ever.”

“Look, we don’t even know if he wants Juuse or not. We’ve only spoken with him a few times, but every time we broach the subject he changes it.”

“That means he doesn’t want Juuse! Goddammit! I’m not giving up my son! I won’t do it! I’ve spent too much money and time to just throw it all away. You will be making a huge mistake if you take him away. He won’t have the proper education, stable lifestyle, nothing.” He was on his feet pacing as he ranted out his anger. He heard silence until she came back on.

“Okay look. I’ll look into his situation alright? What you’re saying may be true. He didn’t look like a suitable parent at all and he’s American which could make things more difficult on Juuse’s development.”

_ ‘Could?!’  _ He thought, but he kept his anger intact as he listened to her think.

“Alright. Here’s the deal. If we find any evidence to show that he won’t make for a suitable parent then we’ll bring that to the courtroom. You’ll have to bring the same. We’ll bring in Juuse as well so we can better the case. Mr. Rinne, I’m on your side. I know you’re much better suited to raise Juuse than his actual father, and I promise I’m going to try everything I can to make this happen. We just have to bring a strong case.”

“Trust me, I’ll have one.” He finalized the conversation and then hung up the phone. He sat down, laying his head in his hands as he felt tears prick the corner of his eyes. He had worked too hard and gotten too far just to give up everything. To give up Juuse.

Juuse had made a home deep in his heart and he’d be damned if he didn’t fight for him. It would be tough, but he would do it. He was just wiping his eyes when he felt a pat on his leg. He looked down and found Juuse looking up at him with big wide eyes.

“Papa cry? Papa sad?” Pekka bit back his emotions so he could pick up the little boy. He held him close as he kissed the top of his head. His hair smelled like baby shampoo and he smelled like applesauce from lunchtime. These were the best scents to him and he felt tears building up in his eyes again.

“No cry papa. No cry. Kiss make better.” Juuse leaned up and kissed the underside of his chin and he smiled wiping his eyes of the stray tears. His little boy always made him smile.

“Kisses do make things much better. Thank you, baby.” He kissed his cheeks and Juuse snuggled against his chest. He was determined now more than anything to keep Juuse, even if it meant risking everything he held dear to him.   
  


* * *

 

 

The case for Juuse was set two months later and he had a whole group of people that came to support him. More than he had before.

Calle has brought in his boyfriend and his best friend to help with the daycare due to the addition of two new babies. But as they got wind of what was happening many of the families came out to help support Pekka as much as they could.

“You’ve got this. You’re way better of a Dad then that scumbag is. You’ve got this.”

“Thanks, Cal. I just hope it all rules in my favor.”

“It will. Juuse loves you. He wouldn’t want anyone else but you. Now go fight for your son.” Calle clapped him on the shoulder and then he went to pick up Juuse as everyone walked into the courtroom.

Juuse was nervous due to the new place, so he clung to Pekka’s suit as he sucked on his thumb. He came to sit next to Ms. Michaels on his side, setting Juuse’s diaper bag underneath as he held Juuse in his lap. This really wasn’t the place he would have wanted Juuse to wear his cute little outfit, but he wanted to make an impression. 

He was wearing cute little suspenders and a little button-up. He put a little clip-on bow tie on him which Juuse giggled about at home when he put it on him. He tried to comb his growing hair to the side, but it still ended up wild due to his wiggling. He was adorable and he looked well cared for which was the point. He would be able to give him a stable home along with a good lifestyle which he wanted to present to the court.

The father looked nothing like Juuse at all and he was dressed in a way that said cheap. They had been able to pull enough evidence to make his case stronger, but he just hoped it worked.

It felt like hours and thankfully they gave them breaks in between so he could change Juuse. He was beyond surprised by how well behaved Juuse was during all of this. The last time he even sat for 30 minutes somewhere Juuse started getting fussy, well unless he had food then he was usually okay. He wasn’t sure if Juuse could sense the importance of the moment, but he was grateful for how calm he was during the whole thing.

It was winding down and he felt his heart swell. He was going to get to adopt Juuse. The real father’s evidence was just not substantial enough to properly care for Juuse. He sat on pins and needles until the judge asked for them both to come to the middle. “Bring the child as well.”

Pekka brought Juuse with him as they stood across from the real father and in front of the whole courtroom. “Now, I believe I’ve gotten everything I need, but for the sake of the jury, we’d like to see something. Mr. Rinne, as stated the child only speaks Finnish, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well have you been teaching him some English as well?”

“Y...yes. Yes, ma’am, I have. It’s only small things due to his age. When he’s old enough we’ll start adding more words. For now, he mostly only understands Finnish.”

She nods before leaning forward, “Well I’d like to test this theory. I already know the outcome but for my sake and the jury’s, we’d like to test this. Place Juuse in the middle if you would. Then both parental figures stand back. You both will try to call for the child over, only in English. Whoever the child goes to will help determine my decision. If you will Mr. Rinne.”

He was nervous and didn’t like being showed out like a circus act, especially not for Juuse, but he put Juuse in the middle and told him to stay until he called him over. He’s had to do this whenever he was working on something and then he would call him over so they could play again. He still felt his stomach sink when he had to step back.

“Pa..”

“It’s okay. Just stay right there until I call baby. It’s okay.”

Juuse stood shyly in the middle until the judge asked for them to call out to him. The real father bent over and started clapping his hands like calling a dog. “Come here, Juus. Come here!”

Juuse didn’t know the man and he felt scared. He didn’t like him when they first met, but it was better because they left the scary man and Papa got them some sweet treats. Juuse looked over when he heard his name again from the other side. At his Papa.

Pekka went down to his knees and raised his hands out to him. “Come here Juuse. You can come here now, okay?” Juuse squinted his eyes as the words didn’t make sense. Papa didn’t make sense until he remembered when he spoke to his friend’s mommy and daddy. He said those words and he would go to his Papa. And he felt scared too. He didn’t want to stand by himself anymore. He didn’t like the scary man so he ran over into Pekka’s arms.

Pekka hugged Juuse to his chest as he peppered him with kisses. People in the court began to clap as Pekka praised his son and held him close, “I’m so proud of you baby. Papa loves you so much.” Juuse clung to him smiling as his papa praised him. This usually meant he got something sweet afterward.

“Wove you, Papa.”

Juuse flinched as the judge called the court to order with her gravel. She looked around and nodded at the proceedings. “I believe I and the jury have seen enough. With the evidence presented to the court and the overwhelming display by the test, it has been decided that Pekka Rinne will retrain full custody of the child in question and the current father will be terminated of any parental rights. Mr. Fox, you’re free to leave. All paperwork will be filed as soon as you leave.”

The real father left but didn’t seem upset, more relieved. He did come over shake his hand with a small smile, “I’m glad he’ll be going to a good home. I wouldn’t have fought if it wasn’t for the money. Good luck.” Pekka nodded at him and smiled as he turned back to the judge.

“With all the witnesses from family and friends and witness of the jury, I now proclaim Pekka Rinne the proud father and guardian of Juuse Saros-Rinne. Congratulations.”

Pekka felt tears start to well up in his eyes as he pulled Juuse into a hug. Juuse didn’t understand, but he felt him kiss his cheek smiling ear to ear. “Wove you, Papa.”

“Papa loves you too. So much baby.” He peppered his son's face with kisses. His son. It was going to take a bit to realize that he could finally have him as his son, but here they were.

Calle along with the other families came over to hug and shake his hand. They had a big cake and cookout to celebrate the adoption. Juuse got his little outfit messy with cake, but Pekka didn’t really much mind. He was just so incredibly happy to have his son in his life.

Neither of them had to ever be alone anymore.   
  


* * *

 

 

**6 months later**

 

“Open this one Juuse! Another present!”

He filmed Juuse open up his third Christmas present laughing as Pekka helped him rip the paper. He giggled as the paper was ripped away and finally he opened up the lid. “Bear! Bear!” Juuse cried out squealing happily as he squeezed the teddy bear against his little chest.

“That’s right! Now you have your own teddy bear too. It has a little vest and everything and look it has your name on it too!” He watched his son inspect the bear before giving the nose a sweet kiss. Pekka’s heart swelled as he filmed his son holding the little toy. 

He was 3 years old now. His birthday came and went with presents galore, and now he had more for Juuse for his first Christmas at home. The little boys face lit up when they first put up the tree, holding up the plastic ornaments as they hung everything up. Pekka couldn’t have been happier as he watched Juuse tear into the next present.

There were some nights he felt that loneliness creep in, but then he would get to hold his son and everything would right itself in the world. 

There will come a day when Pekka will sit down with Juuse tell him everything. Why he has two names because he wanted to honor his late mother and how he wanted him to have a choice on his name later in life. For now, though they enjoyed their little warm bubble of happiness as Pekka got to watch Juuse grow up.

 

* * *

 

**2 months later - Epilogue**

 

“Miikka! No, don’t touch that! Just...where’s your buddy get your buddies hand!” Pekka was trying hard not to laugh as Calle tried to wrangle up Miikka, Mikko, and Sebastian into the same group. 

Filip was holding onto Patric’s hand who deemed himself too old to hold anyone else’s hand, but still didn’t want to be alone. Viktor was pushing the double stroller with Eeli and Miro, the two new babies that came into their daycare. They were just about to turn 2, but still too young to walk on their own.

Pekka was pushing Juuse in his little single stroller, but every now and then he would let him get out to walk with the other boys. They were out at the zoo that day enjoying the nice sunshine and the animals were more active today which was nice.

Juuse loves the new bear exhibit the most, due to their love of bears at the daycare. He held on tightly to his new bear he got for Christmas, who he dubbed as Juuse #2 so if he ever got in trouble he blamed it on the toy. Pekka would always laugh and still make Juuse sit in time-out.

They were looking at the monkeys before they got bored and wanted to move on. “Okay okay let's go find a table and get our snacks out.”

“Snack time!” The boys started to call out in unison together and take off towards the open picnic tables.

“Boys! Boys stop running! Bo...Jesus Christ Pekka every time!” Pekka laughed along with Filip and Viktor as Calle raced after the boys, making sure they sat down at the table.

“Papa?” Pekka looked down to where Juuse was tugging on his pants, “Can we see the bears after snack time?” His big blue eyes always made him fall every time. He was weak whenever it came to his son.

“Of course sweetheart. After snack time we’ll go see the bears, but we have other animals to see too. Not just the bears. We have to be fair to everyone.”

“Okay, Papa! Can Mr. Juuse eat with me?”

“Only if you don’t make a mess, that’s fine.”

Juuse smiled as he went searching for his bear in the basket underneath their stroller. Pekka was right in the middle of handing out snacks when he heard Juuse start crying. “Juuse what’s wrong honey?” He went to check and found Juuse crying as he looked up at him with his big sad eyes.

“Mr. Juuse is gone, Papa! I can’t find Mr. Juuse!” Pekka frowned as he went to look through the compartments in the stroller. He could find anything. Shit. Juuse loved that bear and dammit he would search the whole zoo again until he found it.

He went down onto his knees in front of the little boy as he went to hug him, going to wipe his tears away, “Hey Sh sh, I promise we’re going to find it. I’ll look everywhere until we do okay?”

“Okay, Papa.” He gave a sad sob and Pekka went to pick up his son. It always made his heart ache to ever see him cry. As he was trying to calm him down he saw someone run up to their group.

“Hey! Did...did one of your boys loss a toy? I found a toy bear while walking around. Didn’t know if it belonged to one of you guys?” The man was panting slightly as if he’d been running the whole zoo to locate a family that was missing a toy. Juuse squealed as he saw his bear in his hand. 

“Mr. Juuse! Papa!”

“I know baby. Thank you so much. I was afraid we were going to have to look everywhere for his toy. Thank you,” he said first to his son before thanking the man.

“It’s really not a problem at all. I was just taking some pictures when I saw the toy. I just know I would hate my child to loss their toy too,” the man had a English accent, which Pekka didn’t recognize. The man came up and handed the toy back to Juuse who squeezed it to his chest.

“What do we say, Juuse?”

“Thank you.”

“English, baby.”

“Thank you.” Juuse’s English was coming along nicely. He still spoke to him in their native tongue but was slowly teaching him simple words and phrases in English too.

“You’re very welcome, love. I’m glad you could get Mr. Juuse back,” Pekka found himself in shock when the man began to speak Finnish back to Juuse which made him smile ear to ear. 

“He would miss snack time and he gets really hungry.”

“I’m sure he does, I’m glad you got him back just in time for snacks.” Pekka couldn’t fathom the way his heart sped up as the man spoke so gently with his son. Juuse seemed to beam underneath the man’s praise and that was just enough to talk to the man more.

“Well, I should offer you something to eat after finding my son's toy. Would you like to sit and chat?” Pekka made sure to smile invitingly at the man as he gave him a sly once over. He was an attractive man with dark hair and dark brown eyes. He had a bit of a scruff on him which made Pekka want to lick his lips at the sight. 

The man seemed to catch on as he smiled back, “Only if I can invite you out to lunch later. You’re more than welcome to bring Juuse as well, but I’d like to talk with you too.”

Pekka felt himself blush as he smiled at the man, before thrusting his hand out to shake the other man’s hand, “Pekka Rinne. This is my son Juuse Saros-Rinne. I just adopted him last year.”

The man took his hand with a warm smile as he took another step closer to them. Pekka wasn’t sure what was happening, but he was more than open to this if it did become something. “Roman Josi, and that’s lovely. I honestly had no idea. He seems so much like your son. I wouldn’t have known.”

“Yeah, I’m happy to have him in my life. I love him very much.”

“I can tell. He’s really sweet. So, is that a yes for going out later?” They still hadn’t let go of each other’s hand.

“Yes. I’d love to go out with you.” The man smiled full of warmth and Pekka felt his heart flutter with a brand new type of happiness.

He wasn’t sure what would happen, but all he knew was it wouldn’t have happened without Juuse coming into his life all those months ago.

“Papa? Snack time?”

“Yes honey let’s go eat. Care to join us?”

“Of course. Looks like fun. Looks like you might need some help.”

“If you’re willing to help.”

“I’d be delighted.” The shy smile they gave each other said a lot, but they kept it to themselves as they walked back to the picnic tables.

They finally let go of each other’s hand and together the pair along with Juuse went back and ate their snacks.

 

The End

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> I'm hoping to write a sequel to follow-up to this story, but let me know if you guys would like a sequel for this. All opinions and advice would be super helpful!
> 
> Anyways thank you guys once again! Comments and Kudos are always welcomed!
> 
> Again if you guys have any suggestions, ideas, drabbles, or if you even want to talk come visit me on [Tumblr @SupeDarkRose](http://superdarkrose.tumblr.com/) and let's chat! :)


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